Official Photos of the MV Agusta Dragster 800

It’s been a long tease with the MV Agusta Dragster, with Giovanni Castiglioni hinting at the machine’s debut as far back as the 2013 EICMA show. We still expect the machine to debut any day now, but MV Agusta has dropped some more details by adding scenes to its “Metallica” promotional video.

A few official studio photos have also leaked out of Varese, which if nothing else confirm the lines we have been seeing these past few weeks.

Borrowing heavily from the Brutale 800 platform, the Dragster 800 defines itself really with a lower seat height, a chopped tail section, and it 200 width rear tire. Will those differences be enough to distinguish the Dragster from the Brutale? We don’t think so.

As fanciful as the turbo rumor was, it at least created a reason for the Dragster to exist alongside the Brutale. It’s an attractive motorcycle, like all MV Agustas, but we suspect that it will serve only to cannibalize sales from the Brutale line.

The only logic in that move would be if MV Agusta has seen Brutale sales drop, in which case the Dragster could hardly do any damage to the line’s sales, and instead could serve to get a few more Brutale platforms out of the factory door, in their new Dragster aesthetic.

Considering the heavy overlap in components, it likely didn’t take much of the Italian manufacturer’s resources to develop the “new” model, so there’s a plus.

Leave us your thoughts on the MV Agusta Dragster 800 in the comments. Would you take a Dragster over a Brutale 800?

Despite his best efforts, Jensen is called one of the most influential bloggers in the motorcycle industry, and sometimes consults for motorcycle companies, whether they've solicited his expertise or not.